


Snake Eyes

by Indig0



Series: DBH Rare Pairs Weeks [21]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Fantasy AU, Kind of Witcher-inspired, M/M, Monster Hunter RK900, Naga Simon, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has a Different Name
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:13:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23494393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indig0/pseuds/Indig0
Summary: “Do you know… many people missstake me for a conssstrictor,” Simon said softly, lying back.  “I’m actually highly venomoussss.  From the day I hatched, I was raisssed to kill.  To defend.  …And there are assspectsss of that I like.  I do want to be able to defend my loved onesss, and I would kill if I needed to.  …But it’sss not about need, asss you know.”“I was told just today that I needed to capture or kill you,” Rowan murmured, looking out over the fields.“You’re sssupposssed to be my enemy, I know,” the naga murmured.  “But you’re not.”(DBH Rarepairs Week: Free Day)
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Simon
Series: DBH Rare Pairs Weeks [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1480529
Comments: 6
Kudos: 31





	Snake Eyes

There had been a monster hunter known throughout the land for his tenacity and ferocity on the hunt, but also his friendliness. His helpfulness. His way with words. He always caught his quarry and was well-loved everywhere he went. And when he finally stepped down, his successor was enough like him in looks that the palace guards welcomed him to their tables for eating and gaming.

He was not like his predecessor, though. His demeanor was cold and distant, and his gaze steely. He didn’t laugh with them or make jokes. Connor hadn’t been quite human, but they’d been able to overlook it. Rowan was a different story.

The invitations stopped quickly and the attempts at friendly conversation trickled off over time, killed by a cold stare. But his record was even more impressive than Connor’s, and he was treated with a healthy respect and a healthier distance.

“We’ve had reports of a creature in the tunnels,” Amanda told him calmly. She always looked just past his shoulder, never at his eyes. Sometimes Rowan wondered if she had ever looked at his predecessor. “It’s about the height of a human, but moves more like a snake.”

“A naga?” Rowan suggested.

“Perhaps. Or a young dragon, a basilisk… or perhaps just a giant snake. You’ll need to eradicate it, in any case.”

“Yes, Amanda,” he murmured, bowing his head. “I won’t disappoint you.”

She was already walking away, and he didn’t hesitate to do the same. He’d been out hunting a manticore for almost a week, and had to use all his cunning and strength when he finally faced down against the creature. He’d need to rest at some point, but completing his mission was far more pressing.

The tunnels were dark, but Rowan’s night vision made it easy for him to navigate even in areas where the torches had gone out. There were tracks here and there, but he looked for broad, smooth trails in the sandy floor. Bits of shed skin. Any movement or noise. And in case it was a basilisk, he kept a mirrored shield poised. He was on edge enough that he was able to push the exhaustion and soreness away.

The creature was either very careful or very lucky, though. He couldn’t find any sign of its passage. After a couple hours a guard patrol passed him, skirting the opposite wall and watching him warily. They hadn’t seen anything but a couple of minor imps. Rowan pressed on, grinding his teeth.

By the time he came to the well he was starting to feel a bit dizzy, so he sat and filled his water bottle, and drank slowly. His whole body ached, and his hand was throbbing. The manticore had stung him, and he’d only had a chance to quickly wash it and wrap it in bandages. He unwrapped it to look – it was red and swollen now. He cursed softly. Infected. He washed it gingerly in the well water, then turned the bandage around to re-wrap it with the cleaner side against his skin. It throbbed when he was done, and he leaned against the wall with a sigh. No sign of the creature yet. He’d rest here for a moment, then keep looking…

Simon knew the Hunter by his reputation, and knew to stay away. He kept to the far passages, stayed inside the walls when he could, and tried not to be conspicuous. He’d been seen a few times though, before he had shed, when he was slow and stiff and couldn’t see well. Now he was sleek and sharp-eyed again, and taking advantage of it.

He’d been soaking in the hidden pool connected deep in the well when he’d sensed the vibrations of someone coming to sit down. Strong footsteps, but perhaps a little heavier than the weight would account for. The person didn’t speak, but filled a bottle and drank, then dipped a hand in. Simon tasted the water – a wound. Dry blood and infection.

The person didn’t leave, and after a moment Simon swam over to look up through the water. A tall man sat at the edge of the well, leaning back against the wall with his eyes closed. He was pale with dark hair, and dressed like a Hunter. This was Rowan, then.

Simon had had a near-miss with Connor once. He’d been injured to the point that he couldn’t keep up with his friends when they fled, and he had to be left behind. He’d hidden in some animal burrow, keeping as still as possible, breathing shallowly. Connor had walked around a bit, but had discovered the goblins nearby who’d helped Simon’s friends along the way. Simon had waited for hours until it was safe to slink away.

Rowan was far worse than Connor, he’d heard. Heartless, merciless, cold…

Mostly he looked tired.

Footsteps approached, and Simon retreated a little.

“Shit, that’s the queen’s top Hunter,” growled a voice. “Spitting image of Connor, too. They say he’s a doppelganger.”

“Or a body-snatcher,” muttered another. “Would explain why he’s the same except the eyes. I’ll bet he’s got some fine gear on him.”

“That knife at his belt’s gotta be worth more’n you and me make in a year.”

“I was looking at the coin purse.”

“Nah, you’re thinking too small. Bet you anything I get more selling the knife.” The footsteps softly approached.

Pushing off against the rock wall, Simon burst out of the water with a hiss. The folds of his hood flared out around his neck. At the same instant the Hunter’s eyes opened and locked on the man reaching for his knife. He leapt aside at the splash behind him.

The two would-be robbers fled, and Rowan whirled to face the creature in the well. Simon put his hands up, drawing back.

“I didn’t mean to wake you, but they were going to rob you.”

“I know,” Rowan said shortly. “I was listening.”

“But no harm done, thankfully.” Simon smiled, sinking back down in the water a bit. “It’ssss a shame they woke you, you look like you haven’t had a decccent ressssst in too long.”

Rowan frowned. “…What are you doing here?”

“Ah – my name isss Sssssimon. I wasss just ressssting below when I heard the commotion.” The hissing was offset by the precision of his other words.

“Your kind isn’t welcome here.”

“My kind isssn’t welcome anywhere,” Simon muttered bitterly, then winced. “But in any casssse, I’m glad you and your belongingsss are sssafe and sssound – isss your hand all right?”

Rowan’s icy eyes narrowed and he placed his good hand over the injured one.

“I tasssted the infection when you washed it earlier. It’sss not terrible yet, but it ssseemsss like it could get worssse quickly. Can I give you sssomething to help?”

Rowan stared at him, and he turned and darted back under the water.

It didn’t seem like a merman. It could be a naga, they could swim better than most people realized. But such a strange demeanor. Monsters had spoken to him before, to beg or bargain or curse his name. This one – Simon – rose back out of the water a minute later and offered a slick, dripping object.

“Here, it’sss a piece of my shed. It should draw the infection right out. Placcce it over the wound and wrap it gently, then keep it on… at leassst overnight. When you take it off the shed should be dry and brittle, and your wound should be on itsss way to healing.”

He stared at Simon, who was even smiling a bit. He knew Simon’s words to be true, but normally nagas didn’t… offer their shed skin to humans.

“Do you know who I am?” he asked incredulously.

“The new Hunter. Well – not ssso new anymore, it’sss been… a year or ssso now, right?”

The tall man’s hands shot out fast and grabbed Simon’s damp wrists. “Then clearly you wanted to be caught.”

Simon’s smile didn’t waver. “Take care, Hunter Rowan.” He coiled up and pushed off hard against the wall, back into the water. Rowan tightened his grip, but the loose, dull skin on Simon’s wrists sloughed off in his hands, and Simon was diving deep. His human half always took a bit longer to shed, and it was uncomfortable, but there were benefits to shedding.

A few days later it was sunny and warm outside, one of the first warm days of the year. Simon climbed through the walls and up to the surface, trying various exits until he found a narrow hole at the base of a small hill. There were no trees to block the sun, and a few large, fairly smooth rocks dotting the grassy hill. Looking around, Simon stayed low as he slithered up to the top. It was a perfect day for basking, with a decent vantage point and an easy escape route.

Hopefully he wouldn’t have to escape any time soon. The tunnels were fairly safe as long as he was careful, but they were cold and dark, and Simon much preferred the sunlight. He stretched out over the flat rocks and rested his head on his arm. A nap sounded nice. And when he woke up, he’d finally be warm.

He woke to slow hoofbeats and heavy footsteps, and sleepily raised his head, warm and content but ready to flee if he had to. Rowan the Hunter was leading a large horse down the path nearby, both covered in a dark, viscous fluid. There was a small wyvern strapped across the saddle. As Simon sat up, the Hunter’s steely eyes flicked to him.

“Good hunting, I sssee?” Simon offered. It was too late to hide.

Rowan didn’t answer.

“There’sss a ssstream just ahead, you should wash off that blood before it driesss completely or it’ll never come off,” the naga suggested.

Again, no answer.

“I’ll show you the way if you like.” Slowly, he slid down the hill. “It’sss warm enough that you won’t catch a chill.”

“I don’t appreciate your taunts,” Rowan growled.

“Tauntsssss? Not at all.” He took up a position on the other side of the horse and kept pace with them. “I’ve had wyvern blood dry on me, and it took four shedsss to get the ssstain out of my ssskin. For you it might be permanent. How’sss your hand?”

Rowan frowned, looking straight ahead. “…It’s fine.”

“Good.” Simon smiled. “It wasss worth the risssk, then.”

“Are you aware that your presence out here is not illegal, as long as you don’t cause trouble?” Rowan asked stiffly. “You could save us both the hassle and stay here.”

“And it’sss much warmer here,” Simon said wistfully. “And I love the sssssunlight. But legal or not, if I’m caught by humansss they’ll hurt me. Which isn’t illegal. Or they’ll lie and sssay I was ssswallowing children or sssomething.” He shook his head.

“You seem to be a great deal more frightened of… regular humans than you are of someone whose job it is to hunt you down,” Rowan muttered.

Simon smiled at him over the horse’s withers. “Like you sssaid, it’sss not illegal for me to exissst here, at leassst.”

“And you trust that I won’t… claim you were swallowing children?” Rowan asked, a touch of amusement in his voice.

“Absssolutely. You’re honorable and fair. I know you have to do your job, but I trussst you.”

“You trust too easily,” Rowan muttered, his face unreadable. “You don’t know me.”

“I know what I’ve ssssseen. And I can tassste your emotionsss, jussst a bit.” His tongue flicked out quickly, twice. “I’ve been told I trussst too easssily. But I’m not wrong about you.”

Rowan glanced at him sidelong.

“…Besssidesss, your poor horssse couldn’t carry me and the wyvern,” Simon added with a grin. “Are you going to wash the blood off? You really should. There’sss probably no hope for your clothesss at thisss point, but you could sssave yourssself and your horssse.”

Rowan clenched his jaw, but abruptly turned the horse to the right so Simon had to jump back a bit to get out of its way. He let them pass, then caught up to slither next to Rowan. They stopped by the bank of a stream, and Simon stood back while Rowan untied the wyvern and flopped it on the ground. He untacked the horse and led it down to the water.

“I can wash the horssse ssssso you can focusss on yourssself,” Simon offered quietly.

Rowan ignored him, taking a handful of muddy sand and starting to scrub the horse.

“I promissse I won’t eat it,” Simon added, smiling. “…Or try to sssteal it. I could ride, I think, but it would take sssome experimenting. But he wouldn’t go off with me, would he?”

Rowan scrubbed at his hands.

“Fish isss my favorite food, actually. And I’m not hungry right now, I had a few cave fish the other day. They’re rather tassstelessss, but ssstill filling.”

Rowan looked into a still section of the water and grimaced. His face was splattered with dark blood. He started scrubbing it hard.

“Try thisss.” Simon’s voice was closer to him than he expected, and cool hands pressed something soft into his larger hands. “Shed isss good for a lot of thingsss.”

“How… often do you shed?” Rowan growled, taking it and experimentally rubbing his hands.

“Jussst a few timesss a year now. I’m not growing asss fassst asss I usssed to.”

“I thought you shed just a while ago?”

“I’ll have a head ssstart next time.”

Rowan looked over, water dripping from his hair. There was a raw patch at Simon’s waist that his arm partly covered.

“It alwaysss getsss itchy around there anyway – the meeting of ssscalesss to ssskin, it’sss a tricky ssspot.” Simon shrugged nonchalantly. “But that should help get the blood off.”

Fury grew in Rowan’s eyes until he had to look away. “Don’t tear off another piece of yourself for the damn horse,” he finally growled.

“I won’t,” Simon murmured, but moved forward to start scrubbing at the horse with the end of his tail. “…He’sss really sssweet. Most horsssesss are afraid of me.”

“He can’t be spooking at every monster we come across,” Rowan muttered.

Simon scratched under the horse’s chin, making the big animal stretch his neck out and groan in appreciation. Simon leaned into the broad shoulder. “He’sss ssso warm,” he sighed.

“And the tunnels are cold. You shouldn’t be there.”

“They’re the sssafessst placcce around here. I do try not to be ssseen.”

“No you don’t, you jump out of the water in front of people.”

“Only to sssave you the trouble of a fight.”

“Why –“ Rowan turned to face him, glaring at the naga. “You know it’s my job to hunt you. To kill you.” He gestured at the wyvern carcass on the bank. “Do you think I’ll take pity on you? That I owe you anything?”

“No. I didn’t – I didn’t mean it that way.”

“Why, then!?”

“I wanted to help. That’sss all. You were tired and hurt. And alone. And I know what that’sss like. I jussst – I wanted to help.”

Rowan stared at him for a long time, and he stared back, unblinking. His eyes were blue like Rowan’s, but brighter. More lively. Finally the Hunter took the halter from him and led his horse back on the bank. “…Don’t let me catch you in the tunnels again,” he said flatly. “I won’t hesitate to kill you.”

“I’ll be outssside more now that it’sss warmer. …I’ll keep an eye out for you.”

Rowan quickly saddled the horse up again, making sure the wyvern had stopped bleeding. He walked off swiftly, trying to leave behind the dull ache in his chest.

“I’ve noticed your work growing… inconsistent lately,” Amanda said softly.

“Inconsistent?”

“Wouldn’t you say so? What have you dispatched lately?”

“A manticore, three wyverns, and a nest of harpies in the past month alone,” Rowan listed off stiffly.

“Yes… very impressive.” She turned away. “We spoke a while ago about a naga in the tunnels.”

“Have there been more reports?”

“Not recently. Did you kill it?”

“I –“

“No,” she cut him off. “You didn’t. I’ll admit that it hasn’t posed an active threat recently, but the oversight is rather disturbing, wouldn’t you agree Rowan?”

“It seems a waste of time to hunt a creature that was reported once – not even truly identified – and hasn’t been seen in the tunnels since,” he muttered.

“Rowan,” she snapped, and he turned to face her. “I expect you to live up to the standards set for you. I expect not to have to come back and have this sort of discussion with you. Is that understood?”

“I understand.”

“Good.” She turned away from him again. “I know you have many important tasks to attend, Rowan. Don’t let me keep you.”

Rowan did a cursory sweep of the tunnels beneath the city but found no recent traces of Simon, or of anything more destructive than a shadow sprite. It growled and fought and hissed at him as he bound it and took it to the waiting oubliette.

Then he returned to the sunlight.

He stalked through the streets, and people shied away from his imposing figure. In the farmland just outside of town, the workers avoided his gaze.

In a big green patch between fields, he spotted a pale shape and moved towards it.

He hadn’t paid as much attention to Simon’s appearance as he should have, admittedly. The naga lay stretched out in a patch of clover, soaking in the sunlight. His scales were a mottled pattern, gold and white along the spine fading to a pale yellow on the sides. He seemed to be asleep. Rowan stood watching for a moment, then slowly walked over. He stood with his shadow falling just short of touching the naga.

After a moment Simon stretched and rolled over, revealing a shimmering white underbelly. “Niccce day.”

“As you mentioned before, no one would hesitate to kill you if they found you out here,” Rowan growled. “Do you have a death wish?”

“Not at all. I know your footssstepssss. Do you have time to sssit for a while? The sssun’sss niccce today.”

“…I’ve been directly ordered to kill you twice now.”

Simon smiled slightly. “You’ve looked tired and unhappy every time I’ve ssseen you. Take a break and talk to me for a while.”

“What would I say?” Rowan asked flatly.

Simon shrugged. “That’sss up to you. For myssself… I’d sssay I really enjoy your company. You’re kind, fair, intelligent, thoughtful… You’re interesssting.”

“I… hunt your kind,” Rowan cut in quietly. “How can you say such things?”

“You don’t want to, though.” Simon lowered his voice as he looked up. “You’re not happy with it. It’sss… hard to get away from sssomething like that though, isssn’t it?”

After a couple of seconds, Rowan slowly sat down. “You wouldn’t know,” he said flatly.

“Do you know… many people missstake me for a conssstrictor,” Simon said softly, lying back. “I’m actually highly venomoussss. From the day I hatched, I was raisssed to kill. To defend. …And there are assspectsss of that I like. I do want to be able to defend my loved onesss, and I would kill if I needed to. …But it’sss not about need, asss you know.”

Rowan watched him silently.

“I usssed to sssneak off and drain my venom until I got caught. The othersss were… disssgusssted with me. With my lack of interessst, the way I… threw away my natural giftsss. When I finally left, I wasss terrified and jussst… hurt beyond what I could even underssstand. But I had to, and I don’t regret it. I learned to sssurvive on my own, and after a while I found othersss who jussst wanted to… be able to live. It helped give me a purpossse for… really the firssst time ever.” He smiled a little. “…Then we were running, and I got hurt… and they had to leave me behind. Connor was hunting all of usss. But he found another clue and went off after it, and I… had to hide and wait. That’sss how I ended up in the tunnelsss. Mossst of the time I wasss hibernating and healing.”

He turned slightly, to show a deep scar in his side. The scales grew in strangely around the gash, and Rowan was struck with the sudden urge to touch it.

“…And yet you approached me?”

“You needed help,” Simon insisted calmly. “And we were both alone.”

“I was told just today that I needed to capture or kill you,” Rowan murmured, looking out over the fields.

“You’re sssupposssed to be my enemy, I know,” the naga murmured. “But you’re not.”

Rowan’s head sank to his hands.

“…Either way,” Simon continued softly. “We don’t have to be enemiesss here and now.”

When Rowan looked up, Simon was coiled loosely next to him, gleaming in the sun. Rowan closed his eyes and slowly lay back.

It wasn’t hard to talk about Connor once he got started. How successful he’d been, how well-loved, how no matter how well Rowan did his job, he knew for a fact he would never live up to Connor.

Amanda was more difficult, but she was intertwined with Connor because he mostly knew Connor through her. And because she seemed so pleased with Connor’s work. He couldn’t help but wonder if she had spoken to Connor the way she did to him, or if she’d always held him in high regard. If he had made her proud. If she had loved him…

He stopped for a while, and slowly, very slowly, the strong, scaly tail curled over his waist, up around his shoulders, and he felt its tip rest at his neck. It was cool and smooth, and the powerful muscles beneath the soft skin were quite impressive. He lay still, calculating. If Simon wasn’t a constrictor, he should be strong enough to throw him off if necessary. If he remained alert, always ready, then if Simon struck at him, he should be able to dodge and kill him.

He lay still, and felt the relaxed heaviness of the golden tail draped over him, curled around him, like it was holding him gently.

After a while he spoke softly of his doubts. Whether he was making a difference. Whether he was even doing the right thing. Some of the creatures he hunted were dangerous or destructive, but some were just trying to live, trying to avoid humans, and not always succeeding at the last part. It wasn’t consistent, it wasn’t fair, it wasn’t _right_. But he was afraid to question it, to stop, because he knew the depth of Amanda’s power, and the views of the land. And he couldn’t meet Simon’s gaze when he admitted that he wasn’t strong enough to speak out.

When he was finally out of words they lay in silence, Simon curled around him loosely. He could have broken free if he’d wanted to.

But he didn’t.

Instead his hand hovered over the deep scar, then settled lightly on it. The texture was a little rougher and uneven, and the color a little duller, but it wasn’t less pleasant.

Simon leaned into his touch. “You’re ssssso warm,” he breathed.

“I’ve never heard that before,” he murmured.

“It’sss true, though. And not jussst because I’m cold-blooded.”

Rowan had been running his hand slowly up and down Simon’s tail, He stilled for a moment, then turned lightning-fast and wrapped his arms around the naga’s torso, hugging him tightly. “I’m going to have to kill you,” he breathed. “I have no choice.”

Simon jolted at the sudden movement, then wrapped his arms around Rowan and curled his tail a little tighter. “There’ssss alwaysss a choiccce,” he murmured.

Enveloped in warmth and sunlight, in loneliness and each other, Rowan couldn’t be sure if he was entirely awake. Simon was carding long fingers slowly thought his hair and murmuring softly to him, and it was like there was nothing else in the world.

He must have fallen asleep at some point, but when he woke Simon was still curled around him, lightly dozing. He roused when Rowan did.

“I’m glad you finally got sssome ressst,” the naga said with a very wide yawn.

“I should… go back. I shouldn’t have stayed out so long,” Rowan murmured, sitting up slowly.

Simon sat up as well and hugged him again. “I like being near you. You’re warm.”

“I doubt I’m much warmer than anyone else,” the Hunter muttered, looking aside.

“I doubt I’d want to be clossser to anyone elssssse,” Simon breathed.

There were questioning looks when Rowan got back to his quarters, which he brushed off with his usual intimidating demeanor. That wouldn’t work on Amanda, but she was a problem for another time. He fell into his bed, and it was hard and cold and deeply unsatisfying.

For a few days he patrolled halfheartedly. He urged a family of mers to be on their way quickly downriver. He drove off a Chupacabra. He found a massive dragon caring for three hatchlings in a nearby cave, and left with a headache and no more idea of how to deal with his growing doubts than before.

And he’d have to decide quickly, because when he returned to town there was a summons from Amanda waiting for him.

Blossoms drifted down from the trees in the garden, and Rowan slowly walked up behind Amanda to wait for her to acknowledge him.

“Did you find the dragon?” she finally asked, and slowly trimmed a few rosebuds from the trellis.

“Yes.”

“I assume that it’s still alive.”

“…Yes. I thought it best to return and form a plan.”

“I see.”

“…And upon my return, I was summoned. Did you have something to tell me?”

“Yes. Won’t you walk with me?”

Rowan kept a half-step behind Amanda and just to her left as they made their way through the streets and down to the main entrance to the tunnels. His stomach sank when she turned to a stairway leading down even deeper.

The oubliette was a deep dungeon carved into ancient caves, containing a multitude of bottle-shaped chambers with no entrance or exit but the top. It was full of monsters captured by Rowan or Connor, and even a few left from the days before either of them.

“Why are we here?” Rowan asked, rubbing his arms for warmth. He didn’t trust this at all.

“…Ah, here we are.” Amanda gestured down into one of the chambers, and Rowan hesitantly peered in.

There was movement below, and Rowan’s blood ran cold when he saw the golden naga uncurling to look up through the iron bars at him. Their eyes met, one horrified, the other resigned.

“So you… found him yourself.” Rowan said in a strained voice when he could finally speak.

“A few citizens banded together to bring it in. Quite impressive, I thought. Though it wasn’t very strong.”

Rowan’s eyes hadn’t left Simon’s. “And yet he had to be captured? To keep us all safe?”

“You know that to be true. Are you having doubts, Rowan?”

The Hunter inhaled slowly, eyes downcast. “No,” he said quietly. “I have no doubts.”

She moved quickly but he was faster. He shoved her back, yanked open the iron lid over Simon, and grabbed her arm to stop her from replacing it. The naga climbed and pushed his way up, slow from the cold, as a handful of shadow sprites shrieked out around him.

“You would betray me?” she hissed.

“Rather than betray him,” Rowan growled, holding her by the wrists. He turned quickly to Simon, softening. “…Are you all right?”

“Nothing that won’t heal,” Simon said with a faint smile, sliding over to him. “I didn’t think –“

Rowan jerked away as a deep cold burned his hand, right where the manticore had stung him. Amanda twisted away in a fluid movement, reaching to her belt –

Simon struck fast enough that even Rowan’s sharp eye had trouble keeping up. Lips drew back to reveal long fangs sinking into Amanda’s arm. She howled in pain, then slowly collapsed to the ground.

“Are you all right?” Rowan exclaimed.

Simon was panting and trembling slightly, but nodded. “Y-your hand…”

“I’ll live.” He curled his arm around the naga, stepping around Amanda. She seemed to be alive, but he had more pressing concerns.

Simon hissed softly in distress. “I don’t… have any shed for you…”

“The pain’s fading already,” Rowan murmured. “But… no stopping now, and we should move. Ah – I’m not very popular with anyone down here, but I don’t think we should just leave them…”

“Let me take care of that.” Simon put a hand on his arm, a little too cool but reassuring nonetheless.

Rowan freed all the occupants of the oubliette, and Simon explained that he had changed, that he was trustworthy, that things were different now. Understandably not many believed that, but they were willing to take their freedom regardless.

“…Are we sssstaying or leaving?” Simon asked quietly when they made their way back up.

“I’d like to leave .” He reached out to put a hand on Simon’s back. “…But I don’t think I can leave everything the way it is. It’s too dangerous for nonhumans here. I want to do what I can to fix that, since I caused so much of the problem.”

“…What if we ssstayed, then,” Simon murmured. “It… wouldn’t be easssy, but if the nonhumansss will lisssten to me, and the humansss will lisssten to you…”

“…Which I’m not sure they will. But… would you stay?”

“Assss long asss you’ll have me.” Simon smiled, wrapping an arm around Rowan’s waist. “Alwaysss, if you’d like.”

“That… yes.” Rowan smiled back tentatively. “I’d… like that very much. …And with your help, I think we can make things better here.”

“I think ssso too,” Simon murmured, leaning his head into Rowan’s shoulder.


End file.
